Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on as athlete Rosie MacLennan waves the Maple Leaf after being named as the flag bearer for the upcoming Summer Olympics Thursday July 21, 2016 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

Adrian Wyld/AP

Canada may rewrite its national anthem to be gender-neutral. And grammatically incorrect.

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April 05, 2017 02:39 PM EDT

Canada's national anthem may be getting a rewrite.

The line "all thy sons command" in "O Canada" may be replaced with "all of us command," if Bill C-210 passes, CBC reports.

But many Canadian lawmakers, including a self-described "ardent feminist," think the move is a mistake.

It's a fine example of what happens when you let politicians meddle. Politicians are not usually poets.

Canada Senator Joan Fraser

Joan Fraser, a member of Canada's Liberal party, said the revised line is both grammatically wrong (it would be "True patriot love in all of us command") and misguided.

But the bill passed the House of Commons in a mostly party-line vote. It was introduced by former MP Marul Bélanger, who died last summer.

The bill's supporters want to see the bill passed before Canada's 150th birthday on July 1.

But critics say there are far more exclusive references in the lyrics, including the line "God keep our land glorious and free," which Fraser said was clearly biased toward Christian Canadians. The bill would also only changes the anthem's English version, not the French.

Since 1980, when "O Canada" officially became the national anthem, 12 different bills have attempted to revise the "sons" line. All have failed.

O Canada - National Anthem - Song & Lyrics - HQ

WATCH | In case you don't have the Canadian national anthem memorized, here's a recording of it with the lyrics unchanged.

This is just change for the sake of change, and just catering to a very narrow group of people ... Leave the anthem alone.

Micahel MacDonald

As for the grammar issue, conservative senator Michael MacDonald said if the wording was to be gender-inclusive, it should read "all of our command," not "all of us command."

Can you guess the Kendrick Lamar song based only on a single line?

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Canada may rewrite its national anthem to be gender-neutral. And grammatically incorrect.